1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a maintenance information management server, as well as to a maintenance information management system which uses this maintenance information management server, and relates, in particular, to a maintenance information management server which is used in managing various pieces of maintenance information related to semi conductor manufacturing apparatuses which are used in manufacturing semiconductor devices, as well as to a maintenance information management system and method of managing the maintenance information, both by using this maintenance information management server.
2. Description of Related Art
When data are transmitted from a transmission terminal device to a reception terminal device, a mail server is generally used. As a method for the mail server to automatically distribute data to the reception terminal device, there is known a method as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 252160/1999 (hereinafter called as a conventional example 1).
In the conventional example 1, when data have arrived, the mail server writes in the notifying information a predetermined identification code for notifying the arrival of the data, thereby informing the reception terminal device of the arrival of the data. The reception terminal device then analyses the identifying code in the notifying information and, if the identifying code is judged to be the one as previously defined, the communication is opened. The mail server uses this opened communication to thereby distribute the data to the reception terminal device. Then, in the conventional example 1, the distributing conditions at the time of distributing the data to the reception terminal device are stored in advance in the database. When the data are to be distributed to the reception terminal device, the distributing condition database is searched.
In this manner, in the conventional example 1, if the identifying code is found to be the one previously defined by using the notifying information, the communication is opened and the data are automatically distributed to the reception terminal device. In distributing the data, a searching must be made to the distribution condition database.
Further, as a method of automatically transmitting a result of processing made by a computer (processed result) through an electronic mail, there is known a method as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 120100/1999 (hereinafter called a conventional example 2).
In the conventional example 2, the processed result for each of the jobs processed by a computer is once stored in a volume. Then, a processed result transmission management system refers to a transmission destination management list in which the transmission destination's identification (ID) code has been registered in association with a job name, and downloads into the mail server the applicable or relevant job name, the processed result, and the transmission destination's mail ID. The mail server thus distributes to the transmission destination's mail ID the processed result of the job as an attached file.
In addition, as a method of registering a facility management ledger in accordance with which the facility management work is performed and of automatically distributing various pieces of information concerning the facility in response to the facility management ledger, there is known a method in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 203352/1999 (hereinafter called a conventional example 3).
In this conventional example 3, a computer for managing the equipment/facility is provided with a database having registered therein various pieces of information related to the facility management. Further, the computer refers to the facility ledger for the purpose of grasping the status of the facility, and also performs the management of preparation of slips, drawings, etc. Still further, the computer prepares plans for facility management work or the like and assists the work related to the inspection of the facility. In addition, the computer obtains information about the operation/failure of the facility and obtains and processes information about the facility which has caused an abnormality at the time of emergency. Then, the computer distributes to other persons in charge the work schedule and the details of the work processed as described above, and also distributes to the other persons concerning urgent information such as the operating conditions/troubles, etc. of the facility and equipments.
The semiconductor manufacturing system used for the manufacturing semiconductors are large in number of the manufacturing processes and the kinds/number of the manufacturing apparatuses to be used. Therefore, as far as the entire manufacturing lines in the semiconductor manufacturing factory are concerned, it becomes necessary to grasp extremely large number of, and various kinds of, information in order to perform the maintenance management of the manufacturing processes and the manufacturing apparatuses. In addition, the semiconductors are often manufactured not only in one factory but also in a plurality of manufacturing places (factories), with the result that the same kind of manufacturing apparatuses are often used in a plurality of factories. A plurality of the same kind of manufacturing apparatuses are sometimes installed in the same factory.
Once a trouble occurs to one manufacturing apparatus in a manufacturing line, the trouble affects the entire manufacturing lines, resulting not only in a vast amount of damages but also in the necessity of taking a plurality of countermeasures (urgent handling, permanent countermeasure, prevention of repeated occurrence, or the like) against a single trouble. As a consequence, the entire manufacturing line will have extremely large number of countermeasure items for which countermeasuring actions must be taken, and it becomes difficult to grasp the order of priority among those items. In addition, in accordance with a change in the kind of product to be manufactured, the manufacturing apparatus is sometimes transferred or relocated from one factory to another. Then, in such another factory it sometimes becomes difficult to accurately grasp information about the manufacturing apparatus to be relocated.
In view of the above-described problems, there is carried out a practice of recording the maintenance information related to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses into a database. It is, however, only to record the maintenance information, and it is therefore difficult to effectively utilize the maintenance information. It is thus extremely difficult to manage the maintenance information of the entire factories and effectively utilize it.
Although a description was made in the above-described conventional example 1 as to distributing data based on the distributing conditions, it is difficult to manage in a unified way and effectively utilize the maintenance information concerning the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for all of the factories. There was therefore a problem in that the maintenance information cannot be adequately managed.
The above-described conventional example 2 does nothing but automatically transmitting the attached file to the destination based on the destination's ID. Similarly, it is difficult to manage in a unified way and effectively utilize the maintenance information concerning the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for all of the factories. There was therefore a problem in that the maintenance information cannot be adequately managed.
In the above-described conventional example 3, on the other hand, it is true that the information concerning the facility is recorded into the database and is distributed to other persons in charge, but it is nothing but recording and distributing the information related to the facility. Therefore, there was such a problem that an adequate management cannot be made in managing and utilizing the maintenance information attributable to the above-described semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses.
Since the conventional information management systems are arranged as described above, while data can be automatically distributed based on predetermined distributing conditions (destination's ID) or the like, there was such a problem that an extreme difficulty exists in adequately managing and effectively utilizing the maintenance information concerning the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for all of the semiconductor manufacturing factories.
This invention has been made to solve the above-described and other problems and has an object of providing a maintenance information management server which can adequately manage and utilize the maintenance information concerning the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for all the semiconductor manufacturing factories, as well as a maintenance information management system and a method of managing the maintenance information by using the maintenance information management server.